Love Lost, Never Forgotten
by mayaemene
Summary: A mysterious girl from Dean's past calls for help and it's the Winchesters to the rescue! Except Sam has never even heard of her before. Who is this girl and why is Dean so willing to drop everything and drive across the country on something that doesn't sound like a case? R&R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - Hi! This is my first Supernatural story so please be nice!**

 **I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while now and I figured other people might like it too! So this is the first chapter. I'm already working on chapter 2 and I really don't know how long it's gonna be. So I hope you like this story!**

 **Spoiler Alert! Story takes place after season 12 (yes I do know the finale is tonight and this will be** **completely** **inaccurate to how it ends) for the sake of this story Mary never went BMOL robot and she will be in later chapters. As will Cas, Crowley and possible others.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned this show, that last episode wouldn't have happened. All rights to Kripke and CW.**

* * *

*cell phone rings*

Sam walked into the library of the bunker grabbing the phone off the desk, he didn't even check to see if it was his or who was calling. Very few people even had their numbers now, most of them were dead. He hoped it was Jodi with an update on how many American hunters were left.

"Hello" he answered.

"Um… is Dean there…?" a very timid female voice responded. "

He gave me this number and-"

"Who's this?" Dean said grabbing the phone from Sam. Whatever the girl said, Sam didn't hear but Dean visibly paled, then blushed, then turned away from Sam.

"Shhh… calm down… what happened?" Dean asked in a hushed tone, one Sam only heard when he was seriously injured and had never heard used on someone else.

Dean rubbed his hand down his face and his voice cracked as he continued to try and calm down the girl on the line.

"Okay, okay… Please don't have a breakdown on the phone… I can be there by tomorrow if I drive all night… Yes I am… No it's not a bother… I know its been a really long time… Yeah me too… Okay then it's settled, I'll see you tomorrow night" Dean finally hung up the phone.

"Where are we going? Who was that, an old hunting buddy?" Sam asked casually, moving stuff around on the table.

" _We_ aren't going anywhere. You are gonna wait to hear back from Jodi and Claire. I'm going to help out an old friend. You don't know her" Dean said simply while headed towards his room.

"Well how long are you gonna be gone? Where does she live? Why can't I go?" Sam questioned while following him.

"And don't say 'because I said so' because that's not an answer"

"I don't know, few days, maybe longer. Northern California and it's really sensitive" Dean answered without looking back at Sam.

"You know I'll follow you anyways right? So you might as well let me come." Sam retorted.

"Fine!" Dean said loudly whirling around in his doorway "you can come. Don't say I never did anything for you bitch" Dean said walking into his room and slamming the door.

"Never said that jerk" Sam yelled while walking away smiling. He had some packing to do.

* * *

"So…" Sam started receiving a glare from Dean, he continued anyway. "This mystery friend, that I somehow don't know, lives in northern California. Can you be more specific?"

"Fine. it's a small town on the coast by Sacramento. Happy?" Dean said, exasperated. They'd been driving, stopping only for gas and snacks, for nine hours straight. He just wanted to get there, to see her. But he couldn't think about it because _Sam_ won't shut up.

" _Dean._ Are you even listening? You have given me next to nothing to go on here and I've been racking my brain for nine hours trying to figure out how you know some random girl that you are willing to drive across the country at the drop of a hat for. What the hell is going on?" Sam exclaimed, clearly annoyed at the whole situation.

"If you didn't why to come, then why did you insist on coming?!" Dean yelled.

"That is so not what I'm saying dude. I just want to know who this random chick is"

"She is _not_ some 'random chick', _Samuel_ "

"What?!" Sam sputtered incredulously.

"She isn't random, and she isn't a chick. Her name is Natalia, we met 15 years ago and I told her if anything ever 'happened' to call me. Okay?" Dean said quietly. He was acting weird, from angry to having this far off look on his face in a matter of seconds. Sam was still trying to figure it out.

* * *

*14 hours later*

The Impala rolled into a small town at dusk. Sam could smell the ocean. He hadn't realized how much he missed that smell in the last 12 years. All he could think of were fond memories of Jess and "normalcy".

Dean had been switching between happy and nervous for the last hour of the drive. As they arrived in town he decided he was nervous. It's been 13 years since he last she Natalia. How has she changed? How has he changed? He was about to find out.

"Yo Sammy! Look alive!" he yelled enthusiastically, startling Sam out of his daze. Sam looked out the window and saw they were parked in front of a two story home. It had a huge wooden front porch with a few rocking chairs and a swing. The door was painted red, which stood out against the blue paneling.

"Where is here exactly?" Sam asked, slightly confused.

"This is Natalia's aunt's house. Well… I guess it's Nat's house now" Dean mentioned the last part much quieter, leaving Sam to wonder what was going on.

"Well, lets go say hi" Dean said getting out of the car. It was now that Sam actually noticed his brothers appearance. He had ditched his leather jacket in the back seat, opting for just a plain T-shirt. It looked like he had combed his hair, and… was that… colonge?

Dean was already on the porch by the time Sam caught up with him. Just in time for Dean to ring the bell. A 5"7' brunette woman answered to door. She was beautiful but it looked like she had been crying. She lit up as soon as she saw Dean. They looked at each other for a second before he hugged her whispering how sorry he was for what happened. Sam was more confused than he was before.

*Sam clears throat*

"Um Nat…" Dean said pulling away but keeping his arm around her shoulders.

"This is Sam"

"So you're the famous Sam WInchester I've heard so much about. I'm Natalia" she said smiling. She stuck out her hand and Sam shook it tentatively.

"Sorry I can't say the same about you" Sam said looking at Dean. Who just glared back until _Nat_ looked up at him. He looked almost, embarrassed.

"Where are my manners? Come in! I have a rooms set up for you two" She said leading them into the house.

"But how did you know I was coming?" Sam inquired.

"Dean called me on the way here." She said simply. She lead them through a living room and up a flight of stairs. She pointed out the bathrooms, and then showed them their rooms. Sam was vaguely aware that Dean seemed to already know where everything was, and that he was also holding Natalia's hand the whole time. Sam opted to not think too much about it and thanked her for her hospitality. Dean went into his room across the hall and closed the door. Sam had no clue where Natalia disappeared to.

As he looked around the room he noticed a picture on the nightstand. It was of a young Dean and Natalia. She was smiling at the camera and he was kissing her cheek. On the glass, written in Dean's chicken scratch with a silver sharpie it said "You are my sunshine on cloudy days. I'll always love you. XOXO Dean"

Sam was left wondering who this girl was and what the hell didn't he know about his brother.

* * *

 **A/N - Hope you enjoyed chapter one! I'm going to try and update this at least once a week, maybe twice if I find the time! Hope you keep reading! Leave me a review if you have any suggestions!**

 **xo - Em**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - I'm back! I was too excited to post this chapter to wait. Okay that's a lie. I just needed this chapter out of the way for chapter three to really get going. Anyway, don't hate this chap too much! Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights to the CW and Kripke. I only own Nat and this plot.**

* * *

Sam's bed was too soft. It was like laying in a cloud. Where was he? He couldn't be at the bunker, could he? No that didn't feel right. Why was it so bright in his room? Was that… sunlight? Then he remembered all of it. The phone call, the road trip, Dean's old flame.

Dean's old flame?

Right the picture. Dean was in love.

 _Dean was in LOVE?_

Okay he was getting up.

Did he smell bacon? Now he was for sure getting up.

"Dean?" he called as he walked into the hall. Dean's room was empty.

"In the kitchen Sammy!" he heard from down stairs. As he got closer he heard laughter.

"Dean! Stop it! I'm gonna burn the pancakes!" he heard Natalia shriek. Sam walked into the kitchen to see it the table set for three and Dean laughing while working on the bacon.

"Awe come on Nat! They'll still be perfect like always. You worry too much" Dean shouted over the now apparent radio blasting Lynyrd Skynyrd.

"Mornin Sammy! Just in time for breakfast. Have a seat!" Dean said as he loaded the bacon onto a plate. Natalia placed a huge stack of pancakes on the table. Sam sat down staring in disbelief at how _happy_ his brother seemed. Dean came and sat down next to Natalia, across from Sam.

"How'd you sleep? I hope the room was alright" Natalia asked looking at Sam. It took him a second to realize she was talking to him.

"The room was great. More comfortable than I'm used to actually." Sam said reaching for the coffee cup in front of him.

"Well I told you to get a different mattress, but you didn't listen to me" Dean said raising his eyebrow at Sam before taking a bite of his pancakes.

"So um Natalia"

"Please, Nat is fine!" She interrupted him.

"Nat…" Sam continued, "Why did you want us to come by?" Sam asked innocently. Dean glared at him, about to say something, but Nat cut him off.

"No Dean, it's fine. He has the right to ask. He doesn't even know who I am." She said.

"Which is not your fault!" She added quickly. "Sam, my aunt died. And before you say anything, I know what you do, and I know she didn't die in a natural way. She was a wiccan and has been saying for weeks that something big was happening. She wanted to ward the house, which she did. She didn't go out anymore. Something scared her. And _nothing_ scared that woman. Nothing." Nat explained.

"Okay so something killed your aunt. Was it a ghost, demon, witch…?" Sam asked, taking another sip of coffee. If he noticed Dean holding Nat's hand he didn't say anything.

"I think it was an angel"

Cue the spit take

"What?!"

"Look, whatever was after her wasn't some ghost. The only person who had it out for her was John Winchester, and he is long dead. Besides, she said it was something more divine than spirit. An angel followed me to work a few weeks ago, and yes I'm sure. I asked him what was up. He said to 'watch my back and be ready to be thrown head first into the fight' whatever that means. Then my aunt gets stabbed in our garden? Can't be a coincidence" She stated standing up from her seat.

"Wow okay. For someone who just lost a family member you don't seem to broken up about it." Sam mentioned. Dean was about to punch him when Nat grabbed his arm.

"I'm sure that when this is all over, I'll have a mental breakdown. But right now I don't have time to cry for her. Besides, she would want me to figure this out. That's why I called Dean. I only know so much about all of this." She explained.

"How do you know about this anyway? And how would you know I knew about angels?" Dean asked.

"Wait our dad had it out for your aunt?" Sam asked, just realizing what she said.

"My aunt had sources, kept up with Bobby until he died. She wanted to make sure you were okay Dean. She kept a journal. Wrote it all down. I found it the day after she died, and Bobby had given her a number for one of your phones. And maybe you should take the John question Dean" she said looking from him to Sam.

"Yeah um…" Dean started clearing his throat. "I met Nat about two months after you left for college. I was working a case. Dad took off pretty much the same night you did. He texted me this case. I took it, got injured protecting her from a werewolf. She took me back to her aunt's house and stitched me up. I guess somewhere between the whisky and the beer I told her too much. Got attached, stopped working cases. Dad came looking for me. He wasn't happy, his favorite son was gone and his soldier was disobeying orders. Nat's aunt layed into him, she gave him hell. He accused her of putting me under a spell. We had a huge fight, he told me if I stayed, if I quit hunting, I was dishonoring mom. I told him that mom wouldn't have wanted us to be living the way we were. So he left. He'd text me cases every few weeks, if it was close I worked it. If not, I gave it to another hunter." Dean explained. Sam stared at him in disbelief.

"You quit hunting? For a girl? And after all the shit you gave me about college and Amelia you still knew that you did the same thing." Sam said with malice. Dean just looked from him to Nat, suddenly overwhelmed he bolted out the front door. Sam went to go after him.

"Sam, just give him space. I think everything just hit him at once" Nat said, calmly grabbing Sam's arm.

"What hit him? That he's a hypocrite?!" Sam yelled.

"Look, I can't speak for him about what he has gone through since he left 13 years ago. But I can tell you that him being here wasn't easy. We went through some really difficult shit and I don't think either of us ever recovered. He gave up, Sam. He-"

"Stop" Dean interrupted her. "You promised me. You promised to never tell a soul. _You promised"_ Dean whispered from the door. He sounded so broken.

"Fine." Nat said walking toward the stairs. "But _you_ need to tell him Dean. He deserves to know." She said finally before walking up the staircase. The brothers had some talking to do.

"Dean, I just don't get it. You met her while I was at Stanford and lived with her for _two years?_ What aren't you telling me?"

"Sammy… I um… can't. I don't know how to explain this to you. For the first time since mom had died, I was just _Dean._ I wasn't Sam's big brother, I wasn't a hunter and I wasn't dad's soldier. She saw past all my crap and called me on it. It was _nice._ I… don't know what else to say. I'm sorry, for everything." Dean said somberly, looking away from Sam. "But lets go hunt an angel yeah?!" He said, replacing his mask of confidence.

Sam knew he wouldn't get anything from pushing Dean. But maybe Nat…

* * *

 **A/N - Okay filler chapters suck! Well the next one is going to better promise! R &R!**  
 **\- Em**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **A/N: I am sooooooooo sorry that this took so long! I started college and things got crazy! But in light of season 13 starting nest week (whoohoooo!) I got back into writing this story. I'm starting on chapter 4 as soon as this is uploaded! I'll have that one up in the next couple of days. Anyways on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own SPN, or the characters. I only own Nat and this plot line.  
**

"Sam" Dean said. Sam was staring off into space, no response.

"Sam!" he said louder. Still nothing.

"Sammy!"

"Huh? Yeah I was listening" Sam said, snapping out of it. Dean looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Sure you did Sammy, what'd I just say?" Sam racked his brain. He really hadn't been listening. He was trying to figure out how to get Nat to tell him what Dean didn't want him to know.

"Okay, fine. I wasn't listening. What did you figure out?" Sam asked, admitting defeat. Dean smirked having caught Sam.

"What I was saying was that I think we need to do some recon. Whatever is going on is weird, even by our standards. I'm made some calls, put out some feelers. I need you to do some research on angels and wiccans. Anything comes up could be relevant." Dean explained

"Do you think Nat would let me have a look at her aunt's journal?" Sam asked innocently. Dean looked at him skeptically.

"You can ask her. I'm going to check out Nat's work. See if I can find anything around there, since that's where the angel cornered her." Dean said walking to the door. He took a glance around the house and walked out. Sam got off the couch and walked upstairs.

"Nat?" he called

"In here, you can come in!" She yelled from the room at the end of the hall. Sam pushed the door open. The room was obviously her aunts. There were jars of different plants and some animal parts around the room. Some wards were painted on the walls. Nat was sitting on the floor with her back against the footboard of the bed looking at a book. She looked up at Sam.

"Here, come sit" she said patting the floor next to her. Sam sat with her. He saw that it was a photo album, there was a picture of her and Dean in the kitchen.

"Your brother is the best chef I've ever met" she chuckled.

"Yeah, he is isn't he?" Sam replied. Nat smiled. She looked over at Sam.

"Can I tell you a story Sam?"

"Sure"

"When I first met Dean, he was being all heroic. Anyone who saw him fighting that werewolf would have said so. But afterwards when the werewolf was dead, and I saw how clawed up he was. I realized he wasn't being heroic, he was looking for an adrenaline rush. I offered to stitch him up, he had some pretty bad cuts. He said

'No one patches me up except my dad, and my brother. And since you're a chick and obviously not either of them. I'm good. Have a nice day, and try to forget you ever saw me'

Then he passed out. So I dragged him to my car and drove him back to my house, my aunt helped me patch him up. I found his keys in his jacket, drove his car over to our house.

I sat with him all night. He would wake up screaming for Sammy. I didn't know who that was. When he woke up I think I scared him so bad by asking. He said he had to go, that his dad would kill him for not giving an update. Thanked me for patching him up and ran out of the house.

I thought that was the last I'd ever see of him."

"I'm guessing it wasn't" Sam chuckled

"Nope, I work at a diner my aunt owns in town. He stopped by for food the next morning. I gave him a slice of pecan pie on the house. I asked about 'Sam' again. He gave me the cliffnotes version. You were his younger brother who left for college. His dad was pissed. He was super proud cause you got into Stanford but it hurt that you didn't tell him until the day you left.

I asked how long you'd been gone, he said two months and he hadn't heard anything. He stopped by the campus a few days ago and you looked so happy he couldn't bring himself to say anything, or even call.

And just like that I guess I opened the floodgates.

He started to tell me about how he only ever had one job and it was to take care of you, now that you left and obviously don't need him anymore, he realized he doesn't know how to be anything other than Sam's big brother. Dean doesn't exist.

I kept the pie coming and listened. Eventually he got to the part about how you were always his dad's favorite, and he was just a soldier, not a son. And I told him, to stop doing what his dad tells him. He was 22 years old, he didn't have a childhood and wanted to figure out who he actually was as a person. So I told him if he stayed, I'd give him a job at the diner.

He took me up on the offer. He stayed in my aunt's house with me. We got close. He told me stories about you, always about you. Never about himself, unless he was talking about taking care of you. I'm not sure when we fell for each other, but we just started going out on dates. He finally kissed me after a month of living with us. We were stuck in the honeymoon stage for about six months. His dad showed up then. Started yelling and saying all these horrible things. Dean just took it. Apologized for being disgraceful. I was shocked, in a matter of minutes, this confident, tough guy, became this complacent, self-conscious little kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. My aunt gave John a piece of her mind and kicked him out."

"Anyone who has the guts to stand up to an angry John Winchester is fine by me" Sam commented, chuckling a bit.

"I heard you did it all the time" Nat mentioned innocently

"Yeah well, we had a difference of opinion on just about everything. The last time I saw him all we did was fight. Dean was uh… not there at the moment, so there was no peace keeper" he mumbled.

Nat let the silence hang in the air. Both parties lost in thought.

"Natalia!" Dean yelled from downstairs

"Uh oh. I'm in trouble!" Nat giggled as she got up and started walking to the door "Coming!" she called.

"And Sam…" he looked up "Don't be so hard on Dean. I know you guys have been through a lot, but he went through some tough crap when he was here with me. We both did" she whispered the last part. Then she disappeared through the door. Sam sat in thought for a few moments, then his curiosity got the better of him. He started to walk down stairs, and heard yelling so he stopped.

"I don't understand what you're mad about!"

"You renamed the diner!"

"So?"

"You named it Dean's!"

"And…?"

"I didn't want this for you! I wanted you to be happy and get married and live the apple pie life I should have known I would never get."

"What makes you think I'm not happy?"

"You hated this. All of this. You didn't want to know about the monsters. You were always happiest when we were doing simple stuff. You wanted kids. You wanted to get married…"

"You wanted that too!" Nat interrupted. "You wanted to be a dad and a husband, don't you dare stand here and pretend you didn't want the same things. So let me ask you, are you happy?"

"That doesn't matter, I was never gonna get that and I knew it. And I did the dad thing. I did it for Sammy. But this is about you. I walked into that diner and everyone freaked out. They kept asking if Nat knew. And if I was staying this time…"

"Are you?"

"You can't do that. You know why I can't"

"I know. I'm sorry… I'm gonna go upstairs" Nat said rushing up the stairs. "Hi Sam" she said as she ran past him. Sam was was so much he didn't know about Dean, but now he was more determined than ever to figure it all out.

 **A/N - Read and Review! Hope you guys like it! Chapter 4 coming soon!**

 **Em**


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